Watch Your Step
by Kai517TeenWriter
Summary: {Book three of The Step Series.} - Cassandra and Varian now have a full-blown adventure in their hands.
1. Prologue

"Excuse me, miss, but I don't think you're allowed here."

Cassandra turned to face the voice and found herself face-to-face with Pete. "Who, me?"

"Oh- oh... Not you," he stuttered, flustered, "of course not!"

Cass rolled her eyes as she turned back around, pulling out a key. She inserted it into the lock on the door in front of her, twisting it until it clicked. She was in! Now, if she could just get Pete off her back- a task that was going to prove very... Trying. Especially since he wanted to chat for awhile.

"You know, Cassandra, how come you never applied for Captain?" Pete inquired suddenly, "you would've been a shoo-in, Cass, we all know it."

She heaved a deep sigh. She missed her father. She wished she had applied for Captain of the guard. But... Things were different now. Everybody who knew she would've been a perfect fit for the job also knew that things had changed.

"I've got a family now, Pete," she said softly, gently putting a hand to the door, "or perhaps you didn't notice the two-year-old running around the castle while I sat knitting with two more human beings growing inside of me."

Pete was even more flustered than before. "I- I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean to sound insensitive or anything..."

But Cass had something she needed to do, and she had to hurry to do it. "Look, Pete, I have to go. It was nice seeing you."

"Uh, yeah, you too."

But she had already gone inside the building.

"I can do this," Varian whispered to himself, looking down at his three children, "I've got this."

He could do this... He could survive taking care of the three little ones- his two-year-old and the two-month-old twins- alone for a few hours without help. No help whatsoever: not from his father. Not from his sister. Not from the prince or princess. Especially not from Cassandra.

It was all on him- no "baby swaps." No "phone a friend." Nothing.

"Daddy?" Trystan asked him, looking up at him with her wide, hazel eyes, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, messing her hair playfully, "let's see..."

He consulted the list that Cass had left for him and groaned as he saw that "Give Journey Meds" was there.

At the top of the list.

He still hadn't gotten the hang of giving his youngest child her medicine- though he insisted that he was doing fine and she was just being stubborn- and he always had to pull a "baby swap."

Nope. Not today.

Not while Cassandra was out and about.

He sighed and scooped Journey out of her little cradle, ready to try this once again.

Cassandra entered the room, shutting and locking the door behind her.

She looked around in awe and wonder. She had been expecting a bunch of old filing cabinets and shelves full of papers and parchments. Instead, she found that the Census Archives building of Corona was completely updated far beyond anything else she had ever seen- and she lived with Varian!- and... She was just amazed.

In the center of the room, a silver table: metallic base and a white tabletop that displayed a black... Was that a black screen?

She pulled the mysterious note out of her pocket and studied both it and the table before deciding that her best option would be to lay the note facedown on top of the patch of black. Perhaps it would scan it or something...

Cass shook her head. That was silly. Sure, she lived in a world where simple technological advancements were commonplace, but... This just didn't seem logical.

Suddenly, there was an ominous female voice- not exactly human, but not necessarily unhuman, either- spoke. "Cassandra Marie Vatter, formerly Cassandra Marie Pendergraft, formerly Cassandra Marie Fitzherbert. Family: Byron Dawson Fitzherbert, father; Katia Jane Fitzherbert, formerly Katia Jane Dirkwood, mother; Eugene Levi Fitzherbert, brother; Kade William Pendergraft, adoptive father. Spouse: Varian James Vatter, husband. Children: Trystan Elyzabeth Vatter, daughter; Jackson "Jax" Joseph Vatter, son; Journey Joy Vatter, daughter."

Cass paused, curious. It had just listed her entire family, including her birth parents. It had just rattled off facts like it was reading off of a Census Record, though Cass had never had to fill one out herself. She was always part of someone else's, as was custom in Corona.

So... What else did this fascinating machine know?

"Unborn daughter, later this year; unborn son, two years; unborn daughter..."

Cassandra didn't quite catch the last part. She was too busy trying to process this all. The machine had been accurate thus far; why should she question it now?

Still, though, how much did it know? And... How much of it was true?

"Wha- what?"

"How can I be of service?" the voice finished.

Still in a little trance, she put the note facedown on the table. There was a pause before the voice spoke again.

"Handwriting identified."


	2. Chapter One

"I'm home!" Cassandra called out, hoping beyond all hope that everyone was still fine, "you guys survive?"

A slight cheer and some whooping arose from the kitchen and Cass followed the sound.

"I finally got Journey to take her medicine!" Varian exclaimed happily as soon as Cass entered the room, "just... Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Cassandra laughed before realizing that her other children were gone. "Where are the others?"

"I put Jax down for a nap," Varian explained, "Trystan's watching him."

Cass went pale- well, more pale than she had been before- and managed, "you're trusting our toddler- who can't even get around on her own right now, thanks to that bum leg- to watch our baby boy?!"

Nothing else could be said or done before Cass bolted down the hall to the nursery. There Jax was, snug in his crib, deep in sleep. And there Trystan was in the chair next to the crib, doodling.

Cass sighed in relief as Varian entered the room behind her.

"And, and, don't worry, Cassie. They've been fed and everything!"

Cass sat down on the floor next to Trystan, smiling. "Good. That's good..."

But her mind could never stray from all of the information the machine had told her. She had all that it said about her printed out, as well as the Census Record for the person whose handwriting matched the mysterious note's.

"So... Was your day- erm, successful, Cassie?"

She nodded silently, fingering the papers in her pocket. The note. Her Record. The other Record...

They would both get so much more information than they were currently riding off of. Trystan would never talk about it. She never spoke a peep about the time she was kidnapped.

"So?"

"Trystan, we're... We're going into our room for a little while, okay?" Cass asked, "can- can you handle that?"

Varian looked at her incredulously. Cass didn't necessarily trust her kids to be alone anymore. As long as one of the two was near the kids at all times, everything would be fine. But this... This had to be important.

Trystan just nodded, still focused on her doodling.

Varian and Cassandra made their way across the hall into their bedroom, where they had a monitor of sorts set up to show them the other room. Cass turned off the noise on the monitor so that she and Varian could talk without distraction. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the three papers.

"So... The Census Archives building... It's got a lot of updated technology," she began, "I... I was just able to scan the weird note and it identified the handwriting... It even let me print out the Census Record for the person who might be behind it."

It was hard for her to explain this. Varian was the one who knew technology, not her. She was the practical one! But she tried anyways.

After she finished "explaining" to him, she slid him the suspect's Record. But he was mesmerized by something else.

"What's that, then?" he asked quietly, motioning to the extra paper, "I mean, if it's not the note or a part of the Record..."

She sighed a little bit, holding her Record close to her. "Umm... You see, as soon as I got there, it started... It started rattling off facts about me. Almost as if it were reading off of a Record."

Varian raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. "But... You're only supposed to be on your father's. Or, well, mine now."

"Which is why I was fascinated, you know?" she exclaimed, causing Varian to chuckle a little, "it... It even mentioned my birth parents. So... I had to print off the information. For the heck of it, you know?"

Varian pried the paper from her hand, unfolding it. He quickly scanned it, nodding and making the occasional "mm-hmm" sound. And then his eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. Cass knew exactly where he was at: the part that had confused her, too.

"It all seems pretty legit, Cassie, except..." he consulted the paper again, "but... No, this can't be right."

He looked up at her, eyes searching hers for an answer.

"I- I don't know, Varian," she finally whispered, "it confused me, too..."

"I'm not necessarily confused, Cassie," he said, managing to sound extremely hurried in saying it while still speaking softly, "so much as... Intrigued by this device. Fascinated. Curious about it and what it said... And, again, if it's right..."

Cass just nodded as they both finished the sentence mentally: if it's right, then she's pregnant... Yet again.


	3. Chapter Two

"Ah, Cassandra!" David exclaimed as Cass entered his office, "just the person I was hoping to see!"

Cass was kind of shocked- she had heard that sentence before, sure, but never before had it been spoken to her by anyone aside from Varian. And... Was it ever a good thing if a doctor said it to you?

"Me?" she asked.

"Uh, yes, you."

"Okay, then," she said, "what's up?"

"The tests we took on Journey?"

Cass nodded.

"They came back," David continued, "and it looks like you can take her off of her meds."

"And Varian just got the hang of giving them to her, too," she chuckled, smirking, "but, yeah, that's good. That's great, actually. Thanks."

When she didn't leave, David asked, "what's up?"

She took a deep breath before explaining the entire situation: the machine and its ability to rattle off statements, most of which she knew to be true.

"But, you see... If it's correct, I- I'm pregnant again," she finished off, "so... Varian and I were kind of hoping that you could help us here. Kind of hoping you could confirm or deny this for us..."

David smiled kindly. "Of course. Let me see what I can do for you."

Again, Varian was staying home with his kids, this time for an hour or so until Cassandra got home. Then he'd be able to head up to the castle for work.

He sat on the rocking chair in the nursery, Trystan settled in his lap as he read her a book. The twins were both in their cribs, cooing and gurgling happily.

Varian had just flipped to the next page as Cass came running down the hall and into the room.

"Hey, that was quick," he smiled, "now, too bad we won't ever get answers that fast."

One of Varian's firm beliefs was that someday, things would be there constantly, answers always right at people's fingertips. But, of course, he knew that it would take some time for that to happen. All he could do was hold onto the belief while making jokes.

"Actually, that's not the truth," she interjected suddenly, "I mean, sure, it took about a week for the results to come back for Journey- who, by the way, doesn't need to take her medicine anymore-"

Varian pumped his fist. He wanted to feel bummed about it- he was finally getting better at his job!- but he couldn't. His hardest job was done for. Less baby swaps had to be called... Hopefully.

"But... I've got answers on our... On our other question," she murmured softly, leaning down to scoop Jax into her arms, "I've got answers."

"So?"

Varian was glad that Cass wasn't looking at that moment. He had broken into a visible sweat. As much as he loved his family, as much as he adored his wife and children, he hoped beyond all hopes that it wasn't... That Cassandra wasn't pregnant once again. They already had three children, all two and under... He knew that nobody was ready for more.

She sighed deeply before whispering, "and... Apparently, it's correct."

She turned to face him and he tried for a smile.

Key word: tried.

"I know, Varian," she said softly, making a face at Jax, "trust me, I know."

Of course... It was different for Cass. Why should Varian be complaining?

So he decided to go for a different approach. "So... Does this mean that we're going to have to put off our research? Our project?"

"No," she snapped, "our project is very important. Important to us. Important to anyone else who was, is, or will be in a similar position to the one we were in only two, three months ago. Important to Corona."

He smiled for real now. "My thoughts exactly. So..."

"So... What?"

He seemed to forget this topic completely as he suddenly remembered that he had somewhere to be.

"I'm sorry, but can we discuss this later? I'm already late for work."

Cass nodded and Varian got to his feet, giving Cass and Trystan hugs (and, of course, giving Cass a kiss) and dashing up to the castle.


	4. Chapter Three

Varian sighed, pushing his goggles back up. "Focus, Varian! You need to focus on your work... How else are you supposed to support your wife and children?"

But he just couldn't focus, not after everything that had happened. Not after Trystan was kidnapped. Not after Trystan was kidnapped, left with the mysterious note and a broken leg. Not after the twins were born. Not after he and Cassandra had taken on this mystery.

And especially not after learning that there would be another Vatter kid.

He clenched his fist, pounding it against his lab table- which, in his opinion, hurt more than punching his desk at home. That was wood. The table in his lab was steel. Big difference.

"Hey there," a voice said, "you okay, Varian?"

Quickly, the young alchemist pretended to actually be working. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Eugene entered the room, dropping a wrapped ham sandwich in front of Varian. "No, you're not fine."

Varian paused before nodding.

"You want to talk about it?"

"You already know most of it: how quickly everything is happening. Trystan being kidnapped. The twins being born... It's all so overwhelming, you know? And I'm still expected to return to work..."

"If you wanted, you could take a break," Eugene suggested, "Rapunzel and I wouldn't mind if-"

"Well, I do mind!" Varian snapped, "it's the only thing keeping me from going completely insane. It's my anchor. I do what I love and end up helping my friends, the kingdom, and, most important of all, my family. What anchors me also puts food on our table, Eugene, and..."

He stopped, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths.

"And?" Eugene gently prompted.

"It's not like it's as easy for me to supply for my family as it is for you to supply for yours, okay? I've got three kids and Cass to provide for- and myself, of course- and I've actually got to work for it. You- you just have to do... Whatever it is that you do for the kingdom. Even then..."

Varian glared at his ham sandwich like it was to blame for everything. Eugene put a hand on his shoulder, but the young alchemist angrily shrugged it off.

"And you can't focus because of everything going on around you," Eugene finished for him.

Varian just nodded, looking at the painting on the opposite wall. The princess had done various portraits for the Vatters: one of just Varian and Cass- before their wedding- next to one of them holding baby Trystan. And then the most recent one, where Trystan sat on Cassandra's lap, looking down at Jax while Varian held Journey. (Trystan and Cass always had a good laugh each time they saw this portrait; Varian had a mildly panicked expression on his face as he looked down at Journey).

He stared and stared at this one, trying to calm himself.

"Hey, if there's anything Rapunzel and I can do to help..."

"There's something else, too," Varian blurted out, "I'm just nervous. We've got this mystery on our hands, and I might end up having to take on more- whether it be babysitting time, or more playing detective..."

"Cassandra is pretty capable of lots of things, kid. Did you see how fast she ran only three months ago? In the blazing heat while expecting the twins?"

"But I don't want her to be overexerting herself like that!" Varian yelled, "especially not while she's expecting again!"

The silence that followed came down hard as Varian realized what he had just admitted and Eugene realized what he had just been told.

"Oh... My... Gosh... Cass is gonna kill me! Oh my gosh... I don't know if she even wanted anyone to know..." Varian kept on rambling, raking his hands through his hair, "oh, gosh... Oh, gosh..."

Eugene reached out, taking hold of Varian's wrists. "Hey, kid. Listen. It's gonna be fine."


	5. Chapter Four

"And that's how Flynnigan Rider beat the Duke of Earl," Cassandra finished, closing the book, "the end."

Of course, she knew that she had been reading aloud to herself for the last few chapters of "The Tales of Flynnigan Rider," but she honestly didn't care. She glanced down at her oldest daughter, who was sleeping peacefully in her lap. She smiled and started gently stroking the little girl's dark hair. My, how she had grown...

And now she was only three months away from turning three years old.

Cass reached over to the nightstand where all of her copies of "On Amateur Alchemy and Idiotic Inventions" sat. She picked up the most recent edition- only a month old- and started reading it for the first time.

"To my beautiful, amazing family: Cassandra, Trystan, and little Jax and Journey. I love you all so very much."

She teared up a little bit. Sure, it was exceedingly simple, but... It was still pretty cute. And, of course, she was also having some serious deja vu. Flashbacks to the last time that she had actually had time to sit down and read for her own pleasure. At that time, she had been full-term with the twins, and they were getting ready to move into their new house. She had smiled, excited about the fact that, come next edition, there would be one more name on the dedication. (Boy, had she been wrong on that count!)

But then Trystan went missing and all heck broke loose.

How in the world were they supposed to keep up with everything life threw their way?


	6. Chapter Five

Varian was laying down on the bed, poring over the note and the Record, trying to glean some sort of new information from it... To no avail. Cassandra sat next to him, reading some thick volume or other. Finally, Varian- fed up with his non-existent progress- huffed and tossed the papers aside. Cass looked at him, closing her book and resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing?" she asked him.

He shook his head, propping himself up a little. "I don't even believe the information we have, Cassie. I mean, not that I have much reason not to believe that it's his handwriting, but... Vince is my brother. He'd never do such a thing."

"You hardly even know him, Varian," she replied, laying back, "you said so yourself."

He laid down, too, taking her hand in his. "And you do?"

Cass snorted, giving him a pointed look. She had indeed known Vince, and Varian knew that. Not that he was okay with it- what man wanted to accept the fact that the woman he loved had been with his brother beforehand?- but he never gave Cass any grief for it. He never gave her grief over stuff that she didn't do.

(Besides, he adored Trystan, despite the fact that she was proof of Cassandra's previous ties with Vince).

He sighed. "You have a point, I guess. But still... Why would he- or anyone, for that matter- want to kidnap a two-year-old girl?"

Cass snorted. "There are plenty of reasons, Varian, you know that."

"Yes, but... Why? Why her? Why... Why Trystan?"

Cass shrugged, resting her head on his chest and studying their interlaced fingers. Varian wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close. They sat there like that for a little while longer, enjoying the quiet... Until it was broken by the sound of their oldest daughter screaming.


End file.
